Estuaries

Providing a comprehensive account of marine conservation, this book examines human use and abuse of the world's seas and oceans and their marine life, and the various approaches to management and conservation. Healthy marine ecosystems - the goods and services that they provide - are of vital importance to human wellbeing. There is a pressing need for a global synthesis of marine conservation issues and approaches.

Coastal lagoons and estuaries, lying at the boundary between ocean and land, house a unique mosaic of habitats, giving rise to high species diversity and the creation of ecotones. They are also ecologically and economically important ecosystems that provide many ecosystem services. Yet, these coastal ecosystems are facing a gamut of human-induced threats.

This General Management Plan (GMP) aims to provide a framework for managing the Mnazi Bay Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park (MBREM) over the next two years. In essence, it represents a form of contract between the authorities in charge of the management of the Park and the communities that will be impacted by the management of the Park on the other. This GMP sets out the means and mechanisms for the conservation of marine biodiversity and the sustainable management of human activities in MBREMP.

This publication highlights the interconnectivity and linkages between coastal ecosystems (mangroves, coral reefs, seagrasses, estuaries, and lagoons) across environmental, economic, social, and management contexts. It presents innovative approaches to better understand, protect and value ecosystems services across linked habitats, informing the trade-off of different land-use management decisions and the effects on healthy systems from drawing on ecosystem services from linked habitats.

Terrestrische und semi-terrestrische Lebensräume an den Küsten von Nord- und Ostsee stehen im besonderen Maße im Spannungsfeld verschiedenster Nutzungsansprüche. Bemühungen zum Erhalt naturnaher Biotope konkurrieren in diesem Bereich u.a. mit Anforderungen des Hochwasserschutzes, des Tourismus und der Landwirtschaft. Betroffen ist auch eine ganze Reihe von Lebensraumtypen von europäischer Bedeutung.